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How to light charcoal briquettes

Updated: 22 October 2026

The briquettes are still black twenty minutes after you thought supper would start. How to light charcoal briquettes is mostly air, a starter, and a wait for an ash coat. The usual UK mistakes are petrol, food cooked in thick smoke, and hot ash in a plastic bin. The [barbecue briquettes comparison](/hub/grill-accessories/barbecue-briquettes) is where the bags are compared, and the [buying guide](/hub/grill-accessories/barbecue-briquettes/sub/barbecue-briquettes-buying-guide) is where weight and additives are checked. Peter F. used Weber UK, BBC Good Food, GOV.UK and RoSPA for the method. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

The briquettes are still black twenty minutes after you thought supper would start. How to light charcoal briquettes is mostly air, a starter, and a wait for an ash coat.

Our top picks

Big K Big K (4 × 5 kg)

Best overall

Big K Big K (4 × 5 kg)
8.7/10about £26.92
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Big K Big K (5 kg)

Rank 2

Big K Big K (5 kg)
8.9/10about £9.30
View offer
Green Olive Green Olive (4 kg)

Rank 3

Green Olive Green Olive (4 kg)
8.8/10about £14.00
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.What you need before you strike a match
  2. 2.Lighting with a chimney
  3. 3.When the bed is ready
  4. 4.If they will not light, and how you put them out

What you need before you strike a match

Put the kettle outdoors on bare, level ground. GOV.UK’s outdoor fire-safety note tells you to keep charcoal fires out of the house, a tent, an awning and a caravan, and to keep petrol and paraffin off the fuel. RoSPA adds the balcony and the garage. Open the bottom vent before you light anything. A closed vent is how a started bed dies. You need the briquettes, a chimney starter if you have one, and a few solid firelighters. A rule of thumb from GOV.UK for an ordinary cook is a bed about 5 cm deep, not a load for a long brisket. None of the seven bags here is sold as an impregnated instant-light product. Once any coal is alight, RoSPA’s rule is that you do not add starter fluid.

Lighting with a chimney

Stand the chimney on the charcoal grate. Tuck two or three firelighter cubes under the tube and fill the chimney with briquettes. Light the cubes. Weber UK treats flames at the top, with the upper briquettes glowing, as the moment to tip. Do not copy a minute count from Weber’s page onto Big K, Ecoblaze or Green Olive. Wear a glove or use tongs when you pour. Tip the coals into the kettle, spread them, and leave the lid off while the bed finishes. If you have no chimney, a small pile with firelighters underneath and the vents open is the same idea with less draught. Keep your face out of the first column of smoke. Cooking starts only after the ash coat.
Big K Big K (4 × 5 kg)

Testsieger

Big K Big K (4 × 5 kg)
8.7/10about £26.92
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When the bed is ready

BBC Good Food describes ready charcoal as glowing under a light ash coat, with the lighting smoke gone. A grey or white coat is the cue on briquettes. Large yellow flames and thick smoke mean the bed is still lighting. Spread the ashed coals for direct heat, or bank them to one side if you want a cooler zone. Put the grate on, shut the lid, and give the kettle a few minutes before the food goes down. For a short cook, a full chimney is plenty. A long hold sits on charcoal briquettes for smoking. If the tipped bed stays black, do not clamp the lid and wait.

If they will not light, and how you put them out

A full bed that will not catch is usually damp fuel, starved air, or both. Green Olive’s UK reviews include bags that would not light with firelighters and a chimney, including a bed still too cool after about 30 minutes. Damp Big K sacks ash over only in spots. If pieces are soft, musty or wet, stop. Petrol is the way this goes wrong. When the cook is over, BBC Good Food’s method is the lid on and the vents closed. Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue’s public advice is to extinguish with water. Use one of those two. Hot ash stays out of a wheelie bin. Stay until the fire is out. If someone is ill after charcoal burned indoors or in a tent, get fresh air and call 999 for breathing trouble, confusion or collapse. Call the fire service if flames reach a fence or a shed.

Common questions

How do you light briquettes without lighter fluid?
Use a chimney and solid firelighters, outdoors, with the bottom vent open. Light the cubes under the chimney and wait until flames reach the top and the upper briquettes glow, which is Weber UK’s cue for tipping. Spread them in the kettle and wait for a grey ash coat before food. Leave petrol and paraffin out of the method.
How long should a chimney take?
This comparison did not time the seven bags, so there is no minute count to quote for Big K or Ecoblaze. Weber’s own lighting page describes the ready chimney as flames at the top, not as a fixed number of minutes. One Green Olive review describes about 30 minutes in a chimney and a Weber kettle that was still too cool to cook. If they stay black, check damp and air.
How do you know the briquettes are ready to cook?
They are ready when the pieces glow under a light grey or white ash coat and the thick lighting smoke has thinned. Large flames mean the firelighters or the fresh coal are still burning off. Food that goes on during the black, smoky stage picks up that smoke.
Why will a full bed not catch?
Wet briquettes and a shut vent are the two causes that show up in practice. Green Olive reviews in this set include full beds that never cooked, even after firelighters and a chimney. Damp Big K bags ashed over in patches. Replace the wet fuel rather than nursing it.
Can you add more firelighters after the bed is smoking?
A cold, unlit patch can take a fresh cube if nothing is alight yet and you still have open air around it. Once coals are burning, RoSPA’s rule is that you do not add starter fluid. Lift the unlit pieces aside, light a small fresh chimney of dry briquettes, and add those when they have ashed. If the whole bag is damp, stop the cook.

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Sources

Public UK sources for the rules and the lighting guidance, last checked on 21 October 2026. Product prices, stars and review counts come from the amazon.co.uk files for these ASINs.

  1. GOV.UK: Smoke control area rules (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  2. GOV.UK: Smoke control area enforcement by local authorities in England (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  3. The Air Quality (Domestic Solid Fuels Standards) (England) Regulations 2020 (SI 2020/1095) (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  4. GOV.UK: Selling manufactured solid fuels for domestic use in England (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  5. Defra: Big K restaurant grade charcoal briquettes, fuel ID 0123 (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  6. BSI Knowledge: BS EN 1860-2:2023 barbecue charcoal and briquettes (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  7. Weber UK: Lighting your barbecue (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  8. RoSPA: Barbecue safety (retrieved 21.10.2026)